The present invention is related to accessories mounted to weapons, and more particularly, to weapon mounted lights. Known weapon mounted lights do not permit illuminating areas adjacent to, or outside of, the line of sight of the barrel of the weapon. In fact, known weapon mounted lights are invariably pointed at the same thing as the weapon, which may be undesirable if the light is to be pointed at something that is not a target of the weapon. Conventional weapon mounted lights illuminate in the same direction in which the weapon is pointed with a relatively narrow conventional beam of light designed to solely illuminate the immediate target area.
The normal human response toward a potential threat is to want to see it as clearly as possible. Existing weapon mounted lights, which contain only narrow illumination beams, have the most intense portion of the light beam parallel with the weapon's barrel. This necessitates that the best lit area is also the general location that a bullet would strike if the weapon were discharged. On the other hand, it is almost universally undesirable to point a weapon at something you do not intend to shoot.
Weapon mounted lights are often used for searching or clearing activities, when the intent to shoot does not exist or has not yet been determined. The human mind has a tendency to center an object being observed within its field of view. This also holds true for centering objects being viewed within the narrow circular beam of a flashlight.
Since existing weapon mounted lights have the brightest portion of their beams parallel with the weapon's barrel, this has traditionally meant that the user's tendency is to instinctively point the weapon directly at whatever is being illuminated, even if there was no desire to actually discharge the weapon. This could cause accidental shootings, especially in high stress situations. Intense and frequent training can assist in overcoming this tendency, but such training is very rare for both law enforcement and civilians. It is therefore desirable to create weapon mounted lights which compensate for both human nature, lack of training, and the existing deficiencies in weapon mounted lights, by illuminating a broader area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,521 issued to Kim on Jan. 13, 2004 shows an attachment for a firearm which slidably engages a railing and has an adjustable flashlight head attached thereto. The device of Kim may be positioned along the side of a barrel and has a head that is adjustable while still maintaining a forward focus of the light beam. U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,817 issued to Larsson on Sep. 9, 2008 teaches a gun accessory mounting device. The device of Larsson has a mounting device which allows a flashlight to be mounted to a handgun in a position in front of the trigger. The mounting device appears to permit an entire flashlight to be pivoted at a point adjacent the front of the trigger to engage an attachment mechanism. This device does not provide for a broad beam and does not show a rotating head flashlight.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2008/0209789 shows an accessory mount that pivots laterally along the line of the barrel, but does not illuminate a broad area including the areas at an angle to the barrel. U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,624 teaches accessory devices for firearms that includes a light, which is slidably engaged on a rail along the bottom of the forearm of a shotgun, and has a rotatable accessory disposed thereon.
Several patent references involve firearms, including hand guns, with flashlights or laser sights slidably engaged on a rail or ridges disposed under the barrel, adjacent the trigger. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/0122527 shows a flashlight having an outer housing that fits on the rails of a firearm, such as a machine gun. U.S. Pat. No. 7,523,583 shows a gun accessory that will mate with the bottom of the frame of a handgun for holding a flashlight accessory. U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,333 shows accessory devices for firearms including a below the barrel along the rail flashlight mount. U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,105 shows an apparatus for attaching a flashlight to a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,967 shows an aiming assistance device for a weapon disposed on a rail under the barrel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,352 also shows accessory devices for firearms below the barrel and along a frame mounted rail at the bottom of the barrel. U.S. Pat. No. 7,310,903 teaches accessory devices for firearms that include a light in a housing slidably engageable with a rail along the bottom of a firearm. U.S. Design Pat. No. D548,385 shows a firearm flashlight that is mountable to a rail below the barrel. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,076,908, and 6,571,503 show an accessory mount for a firearm holding or designed to hold a flashlight or similar light. A disadvantage of the prior art expressed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,901, which shows an accessory mount for a firearm, is that if the device is left mounted on the weapon, it cannot be used independently of the weapon despite the fact that in some situations, it is desirable to illuminate an area without pointing the weapon directly toward that area.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,578,311 and 6,526,688 teach an apparatus and method for actuating a weapon accessory by a laser sighting beam which also shows a light under the barrel and disposed along a rail. Chinese Patent No. CN101416019 shows an under barrel sighting device which uses button batteries. Canadian Patent No. CA2650892 shows another under barrel flashlight device. U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,978 shows a light mountable on a mounting rail.
These references do not show a weapon mounted light that can be rotated, nor do they show a weapon mounted light which can illuminate in a broader direction in order to illuminate areas adjacent or sideways of the path of the barrel of the weapon pointing at the target zone. All known devices, when fully mounted, point along the barrel at the target of the weapon to illuminate the target zone and the immediate adjacent area centering on the target. A weapon mounted light that illuminates in a direction broader than the target zone is desirable. Further, a weapon mounted light that illuminates both the target zone and an area along a predetermined or adjustable angle from the barrel of the weapon is also desirable.